Today we’d like to introduce you to Ross Branch.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I started riding at the age of 4 years old, My dad and i rode every weekend and thats where i fell in love with bikes. I started racing at the age of 5 and my dreams of becoming a world champion started. I won a few South African and Botswana national titles and then i set my focus on going to the biggest and toughest rally in the world, The Dakar rally. My first Dakar was in 2019 where i finished 13th overall and won the rookie class. 2020 i went back as a privateer and wanted to see where i was in comparison to the factory riders and i managed to win a stage and got a factory contract with Monster energy Yamaha. It truly was a dream come true. In 2023 i moved to the Hero Motorsports team and we had some great results and we developed the bike really quickly to fight against the giants like KTM and Honda. In 2024 i came 2nd at the Dakar rally which set me up for a great year in the championship. I won the world title that year and was the rally raid worldchampion in 2024. It was a dream of mine that finally came true after 33 years. I still race for Hero Motorsports and looking forward to the up and coming Dakar in January 2027.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I dont think there is a smooth road when you are an athlete as there are so many things that can go wrong and when you have thousands of kilometres to race in some of the worlds toughest deserts, things do go wrong. The main struggles we have as racers is injuries. We are always risking alot while racing and the pace is so high at the moment so we have to take a few extra risks. I have had a few injuries in 2025 and 2026 which has set me back a bit but im now healthy and ready for the fight to win.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I race the world rally raid championship which starts with Dakar in january. My nick name is the Kalahari Ferrari and im most proud of winning the world title in 2024.
Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
Risk is associated with my profesion everyday. Every time i get on the bike im taking a risk. To win you have to take risks and there is no better feeling than winning. When you win you forget about the risks and just focus on the positive happy things about my sport. I love what i do and its all worth the risks
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @rossbranchbw
- Facebook: @rossi.branch
